CBC Ottawa explains: What would it take to improve rural transit?

There was aperiod in Ottawa'shistory when peopleseemed to accept that the farther you lived fromthe core, the less bus service you couldexpect.

For awhile, those living in the city's ruralareas seemed relatively happy not to have to pay into the city's transit system.

But this election, that seems to be changing.

People in the suburbs are crying out for light rail,more reliable commuter service and improved local bus routes. Even residents on the city's rural fringesare demanding bus service to connect them to the rest of Ottawa.

What rural residents want from OC Transpo

6 years ago

Duration 0:41

People living in Ottawa's rural areas spoke with CBC about the public transit improvements they'd most like to see.

"We only have one bus that comes out here on Wednesdays once a week," said Ella Rigley, a 17-year-old who lives in the Carp area.

As a teenwithout a license,Rigleysaid that makes it difficult to get around.

"It comes kind of in the middle of the day, so nobody who goes to school or has work can really use it to get out to more accessible places like Kanata or downtown."

Seniors who can't drive anymore have similar issues and that's a problem if theydon't want to leave their homes in the countryas they age.

"If we have a medical problem, there is no bus that goes here," said Catherine Easton, who lives near the Diefenbunker.

Transit for whom?

The prospect of running buses down rural roads is a complicated proposition, however, as not everyonepays into Ottawa'stransit system equally.

Whether you ride the bus or not, the percentage of your property taxes that goestoward OC Transpo depends on where you live.

Ottawa's mostrural areas only get Para Transpo service, and only for trips to the urban core. Those residents pay about $63 intaxes on a $450,000 home fortransit.

Compare that to the urban part of the city, which enjoys a full slate of transit services. For a home of similarly assessed value, urban residents would pay about$735 annually.

But there is a middle ground, known as Rural Transit AreaA, where residents get some bus servicebut not the full package and that's where the transit battleis heating up.

Balancing act

Right now,residents in that zone pay about $232.20intaxes on a $450,000 home toget partial service.

In Richmond, that includes a commuter bus that runs from a rural park-and-ride downtown three times per morning and fourtimes in the evening.

While that seems to work well for someresidents,it's a balancing act. Everyone in the area pays the same, whether or not they ever setfoot on a bus. So while some people would love to see that service expanded, others would prefer to pay nothing.

We have to review the transit boundaries. We have to.- Scott Moffatt

Similar tensions are likely to play out all around the city, especially as the LRT system starts to fundamentally transform the system and create serious inequalities.

"We have to review the transit boundaries. We have to," said Coun. Scott Moffatt, who is running for re-election in Rideau-Goulbourn.

While a large portion of his ward pays the middle rate, people living in Greelypaynothing. Once the second phase of LRT brings the train farther south, the east-end community will be only minutes from a major terminus with a park-and-ride.

Ridership is key

On the west side, the West Carleton-March ward has no regular transit service at all, aside from that weekly shopping route.

"We need action now," said council candidate Judi Varga-Toth, who has made rural transit part of her platform. "I don't think it's acceptable to wait for years ...people want transit now."

West Carleton-March incumbentCoun. EliEl-Chantirysaid the talk about bringingbuses to the ward should wait until after more development moves in.

That's the big challenge with levelling the playing field: taxes aren't the only thing that payfor transit. Faresmake up about 45 per cent of OC Transpo's budget, so there needs to be a critical mass of riders to make a rural route viable.

The transit service has also stopped charging different rates for different routes. Since 2016, the fare to ride the bus is the same across the city, no matter where you go.

That inequality is also apparent in the transit service's park-and-rides: there are 10 in the city's rural areas,but while some were at 80 per cent capacity as of last January, the lot in Munster was at only three per cent.

The next city council is expected to crackopen the transportation master plan, a major undertaking but what role rural communities play in theexpanded transit system is still to be seen.

Council could follow the instincts of West Carleton-Marchcandidate James Parsons, who said the number of peopleof who would have to pay just to service Carp village isn't palatable.

"It's country living," Parsons said.